Will the new Chevy Volt add energy into an electric investment portfolio?

Probably not… because small is beautiful.

In this era of rapid change a company’s value is its idea… less its size and experience. A monster organization like GM… even trimmed down comes from the muscle car experience. Changing course from the “Giddiyap 409” attitude to “Go Green” requires enormous effort.

Yet who will come out ahead?

Chinese? South Koreans…. even Japanese? Europeans?

The Japanese and Europeans have the benefit with their small, crowded nations, narrow and winding roads. They have always had to think smaller than in the US, where soft big and fast were the norm.

Japan’s gas prices are almost double those in the US and Europe’s are sometimes triple…. so when America’s cars were getting bigger… Europe’s and Japan’s were shrinking.

The Chinese and South Koreans are relatively new to the game so their mindset may not be as formed.

Americans did not learn much from the 1980s oil crisis. Americans made pretty crappy, small cars at that time… the Dodge Reliant… yuck! No wonder Chrysler went broke.

The Ford Mustang had fallen from its great beginning to a miserable low and the Chevy Malibu wasn’t any better. We should not be surprised that the Japanese grabbed so much market share.

GM rebounded with the Suburban. Ford watched F150 pickup sales soar. Chrysler made the minivan an every day affair and American drivers moved from gas guzzling muscle cars to gas guzzling SUVS and trucks.

Here are reader comments from our last message about green investing.

Greetings Gary, Thank you for printing the electric engineer’s letter. He is a smart guy, and used good illustrations. In his passion for reminding us that a battery is like a bucket [of course he is right] he managed to throw out the benefits of the battery out the window. I hope he doesn’t impede you from reporting on new tech you hear about in the future. We all knew what you intended. The real point is reducing our grid use [via wind solar, whatever] and being able to store it economically. If this battery works it is the breakthrough you reported. Please don’t lose your passion, tell us as many of the details of the vision you see, please. Happy Trails, and keep up the good work.

No chance I’ll lose my passion! I have grand kids and my children are really passionate about this so they push me right along.From the investing point of view, I know that big problems create big opportunity and there are few bigger problems than environmental pollution.

Here is another reader: In response to the solar battery section of this post, it may interest you to access National Geographic’s August’s “Picture of the Month”. Scout around the site until you find the series of photos from their recent article on the current state of solar power technology.

You may know that the WSJ recently had an article about a meeting Correa had with a Russian delegation to discuss Russian help building a nuclear energy plant in Ecuador. The WSJ (which hates Correa) was on red alert. But the general feeling in other media is that the Russians are meddling in “our” backyard in response to us meddling in “their” former sphere of influence, particularly those missiles in Eastern Europe. I continue to be puzzled why no one in Ecuador, or interested in Ecuador, is looking at developing a solar power industry. Apart from the obvious abundance of stable and intense year-round solar radiation, a distribution system along the north/south axis of the Andes would avoid all the problems of moving oil and gas through mountains and volcanoes from the eastern Amazon basin west to the Pacific ports for trans-shipment.

The lack of solar would seem a puzzle until one thinks it through. Solar power is still costly and poor nations tend to go with the least expensive choice. Plus who would help? Solar could make Ecuador independent and no one seems to have that on their agenda.

Mankind must become greener. This is a huge problem and because problems create opportunity, demand for electric cars that help the environment may continue to grow.

When looking at investment ideas in electric cars think small… the winners are not likely go come from America’s… big (mostly busted) three.

Our emailed course “Tangled Webs We Weave – How to Have Your Own Web Based Business” is a continuing educational program. You receive the first 28 lessons when you enroll and a new lesson every week or two.

This course teaches how to create a web based business and is developed from the ongoing experiences that we have from our successful and profitable internet business.

This course is well worth the enrollment fee of $299… but currently you also receive two additional courses FREE.

The other two courses are #1: International Business Made EZ, and #2: Self Fulfilled – How to be a Self Publisher.

These two courses have sold for $398 and thousands have paid this price. We add them to your course at no added cost as I believe they will help you develop a better business in these crucial times..

Even Better Get All three Courses Free

To make this offer even more compelling, I am giving everyone who enrolls in our North Carolina or Ecuador International Business & Investing seminar in October or November all three courses, “Tangled Web… How to Have an Internet Business Course,” “Self Fulfilled- How to be a Self Publisher” and “International Business Made EZ” free.

Join us with Jyske Bank and my webmaster David Cross in West Jefferson North Carolina. Learn more about global investing, how to have an international business at the seminar.

Yesterday’s message began a series on Ecuador beach property because I believe there is extra value on the beach now due to rumors that have scared some buyers away.

Looking beyond the rumor allows us to take advantage of the truism, “Buy on the rumor and sell on the news.”

This provides us with extra opportunity and life on a beautiful beach like this.

Ecuador beach north of Bahia.

One recent rumor came from a BBC article entitled “Americas on alert for sea level rise” by James Painter the BBC Latin America analyst.

Excerpts of the article say:

Coastal areas in parts of Mexico are among those under threat

Climate change experts in North and South America are increasingly worried by the potentially devastating implications of higher estimates for possible sea level rises.

The Americas have until now been seen as less vulnerable than other parts of the world like low-lying Pacific islands, Vietnam or Bangladesh.

But the increase in the ranges for anticipated sea level rises presented at a meeting of scientists in Copenhagen in March has alarmed observers in the region.

Parts of the Caribbean, Mexico and Ecuador are seen as most at risk. New York City and southern parts of Florida are also thought to be particularly vulnerable.

This sent shivers up the spine of many investors who had been thinking about buying on Ecuador’s coast. That is because they did not read the entire article.

Further on the article says:

According to a recent World Bank study of more than 80 developing countries, Ecuador features among the top 10 countries likely to be most affected by sea level rise when calculated as a percentage of its GDP.

Argentina, Mexico and Jamaica also appear in the top 10 when measured by the impact of a one-metre rise on agricultural lands.

This makes Ecuador’s beaches to sound vulnerable until you read on where the article says:

New research led by Dr Jianjun Yin at Florida State University suggests that whereas South American coastal cities are not at threat this century from an extra sea level rise caused by Amoc, New York City and the state of Florida are.
The coastal plains around the city of Guayaquil in Ecuador, the country’s main economic hub, are also known to be vulnerable to a combination of sea level rises, storms and sea surges.

A recent study by researchers at Espol, a science institute in Guayaquil, suggested that even a half-metre sea level rise would put the storm drainage system in the southern part of the city under severe strain, possibly causing it to collapse.

The concern about Ecuador’s coast is the rumor. Here is the news. Guayaquil… which is inland is at risk… a huge economic problem yes… but not for the Ecuador beach cities. Should these rising water problems come true… the coastal cities in Ecuador may become even more important and valuable.

Do not get me wrong… global warming may be a huge problem everywhere… but may not be a concern in our life times on Ecuador’s coast. In fact as higher water driving people from Florida and Guayaquil could create opportunity for Ecuador beach property. I have put the address of the entire BBC article at the end of this message.

I am adding a stronger buy signal for Ecuador beach property and this week we are running a series looking at Ecuador beach areas from Salinas to Esmeraldas as shown on an excerpt of this Ecuador map.

Those who have been reading our messages for any length of time know that I have focused my efforts on the middle portion of Ecuador’s beach from Manta to Bahia in the province of Manabi.

However there are many other great Ecuador beach areas I would like to share so I asked a few of the many contacts I have made, up and down the coast, to tell us more about the beaches where they are in Ecuador.

Today we look north of San Clemente from Bahia… north with an article by Gary Swenson an American who lives in this area with his family and brother Larry.

Bahia North by Gary Swenson

I have been an adventurer all of my life. Driving race cars all over the world for a living and traveling the Pacific for four years with my sailboat.

Gary Swenson’s race car.

Gary Swenson’s sailboat.

I found Ecuador on that four year Pacific sailing adventure. I had visited many countries in my work and exercising my passion. The people here made me feel like family. I have been here now for 8 years. We have been investing in North Coastal real estate for 7 of those 8 years, and have close to 30 properties on the beach. Some with a quarter acre, and some with as much as one mile of beachfront.

I have walked close to 50 miles of beachfront myself, searching for the most beautiful pieces, and as a bonus have also found many pre-Colombian artifacts just lying on the beach!

Treasures found on the beach.

I have concentrated on the North Coast for one main reason, and that is that it is the last area of the coast of Ecuador that was mainly undeveloped, somewhat inaccessible, and the prices affordable. That is all changing right now! Many properties that I have purchased now have new coastal highways and roads being built right past them as they open up this coast. This area is slowly being found out by Ecuadorians, foreign retirees and investors alike.

New road construction near Bahia.

The President of Ecuador knows that tourism is a big part of the future here and is spending the money necessary to develop the coastal areas.

One of the largest developments in Ecuador is on the North Coast and largely unknown to the rest of the outside world is in Same (pronounced saw may). It is a sleepy tourist town (true for most of the North coast) that wakes up during Ecuadorian holiday times and vacation times for the kids from Quito.

It is only 30 minutes from the Esmeraldes airport. Years ago Esmeraldes was a wild place and somewhat dangerous, but that was years ago. I find it safe and friendly, with better roads and infrastructure that is better than most of the rest of Ecuador.

There are also other well developed areas such as Atacames (pronounced otta-calm-es), Sua (Sue-ah), Pedernales with high rise condos and hotels.

Then there are hidden gems like, Cojimies with miles of coconut plantations lining the beaches, Mompiche, Estero De Platino and Canoa with great surfing, and Jama/ElMatal for kite boarding, river rafting, and just relaxing if you like.

More Ecuador beach north of Bahia.

Sunny and underpopulated.

Bahia De Caraquez with a laid back Mediterranean feel and an international Marina, great schools and theater.

Bahia.

This coast has great diversity and friendly people where you can walk most beaches any time of the day or night safely. With your choice of miles of virgin beachfront to choose from.

This is paradise!

This North coast also has many mini climates from a dry tropical climate equal to Santa Barbara, California in the spring with no humidity to a more lush semi wet tropical, lush green terrain all year long.

Lush beaches

There are also a few larger towns with night life, restaurants, hotels and touristy things do do in between the many friendly small towns with just a restaurant and hostel.

Gary Swenson and his son Archie on the beach.

Here you can find whatever type of beach that you would like to live on. From high banks with a bird’s eye view overlooking miles of coastline while watching the whales and dolphins play in the swells, or fishing, to low lying sandy beaches that you can walk and wiggle your toes in for miles!

Yes, you can find what your heart desires here.

Gary Swenson fishing.

To get to the Bahia area you fly into Quito and take a short 1/2 hour flight to the Manta airport and then a 1 hour taxi or bus ride to Bahia.

To Esmeraldes it is a half hour flight from Quito. The airport in San Vicente is in the middle of a dispute with the city and is supposed to be resolved this year and restart flights from Quito.

I have eaten at just about every restaurant in Bahia, San Vicente, Canoa, Jama, and others further north and rarely have a bad meal! The average cost of a lunch (almuerzo) including fresh seafood, chicken or meat, small salad, rice, beans, soup of the day, and fruit juice is between $1 and $2, and the food and juice is all fresh! Nothing out of a can here. The population of Bahia and the surrounding areas is around 20,000 but you would never know it as it is a tourist town and only fills on some weekends and holidays.

The weather from San Clemente/Bahia to just north of Pedernales is a dry tropical climate and is similar to the climate of south central California in the spring/early summer. It averages 75 to 80 degrees and very low humidity, and a nice sea breeze for 7 months a year. We have 2 months that they call the rainy season that we have a 1 or 2 hour rain at night maybe twice a week. Very seldom does it rain during the day. This time of the year it averages 80 to 95 degrees and is slightly more humid. Then there is what the locals call summer when the temperatures are 70 to 75 degrees every day and mostly cloudy with a little afternoon sun. It could be true that Ecuador has the best climate in the world!

Ecuador beach sunset near Jama.

I believe in Ecuador, and the future holds many good things here for the people that have a little adventure in their souls. Gary Swenson

Gary Swenson’s family on the beach.

You can learn more about this area from Gary Swenson at www.ecuadorbeachfront.com

or email lswenson@bendcable.com

Gary Swenson and his brother, Larry, own an Ecuador beach development at Coco Beach Village.

Gary & Larry Swenson’s project.

They have a gated community of 1/4 acre beachfront lots with homes that start at $99,000 with underground utilities, tennis courts, swimming pool, clubhouse. This is in the friendly Jama/El Matal community on Ecuador’s beach.

Your own hammock near Jama.

Until next message, good global investing.

Gary

Our 2-4-1 offer expires in three days.

Join us and visit Ecuador beach property with our 2-4-1 tours this May and July.

Merri and I will not be on these tours but we do want to meet you. So to make sure we can meet, we will let you attend these either one of the May real estate tours free if you enroll in one of our three International Made EZ courses, in July, October or November.

You get two courses for the price of one. Enroll in any of these courses that Merri and I will conduct below and choose either May real estate tour free.

In other words, when Merri and I arrive in North Carolina our front yard could look something like this.

One must wonder… why? We could be back in Ecuador where there is never snow and one has a choice of climates. For example in Cotacachi nearly every day it’s in the 70s and at night 50s.

By dropping altitude a bit for example to Ibarra, the temperature is warmer. Cotacachi is at at about 7,500 feet altitude, Ibarra about 6,500 feet.

Instead of looking at the snow, I could be looking at sunshine and property near Ibarra like this Ecuador real estate for sale that we viewed on our last real estate tour…

This is an income opportunity, a 21.39 acre estate with an executive golf course, pitching and putting, 6 greens on a 5 acre area. It has six cabins. Here is our last real estate tour…

taking a look at…

the cabins.

Here they are…

inside.

They are in good shape…

clean and with…

balconies…

overlooking wonderful gardens.

There is a full restaurant inside and …

out.

plus a two bedroom, one bathroom house.

This property was one the market at one time at a price that was too high. Now the owner has adjusted it down to a realistic price and I am sending a full report to my Ecuador Living subscribers next week. If you are not a subscriber and would like this report, you can learn how to subscribe to Ecuador Living here.

We look forward to sharing more ideas about Ecuador, value anywhere and hope that until next message may all your connections be linked in reality and truth.

We offer a Hometel at our Cotacachi hotel Meson de las Flores so you can enjoy Cotacachi room rates… at a ridiculously low $32 a night… including a full served breakfast, free broadband and free calls to the US, Canada and Europe.

Now there is a Homesuite opportunity at our Cotacachi hotel as well.

Here is Meson.

We have one suite in the hotel which starts with an outdoor dining area on a covered balcony.

The views are fantastic.

Mt. Cotacachi in one direction

The cathedral is straight ahead, across the street and at eye level to the suite.

These are all shots I have taken from the balcony.

I love to sit in the dawn, work to the glow of my computer…(we have great wireless broadband for hotel guests)…and free phone calls to the US, Canada and Europe and watch the sun rise.

First, the dawn makes the Cathedral glow.

Then Mt. Imbabua comes alive.

This all happens around 5:30 am so many miss it…but for late sleepers, the views at dusk are a treat as well. Here is the moon just starting to rise.

Up and away!

You can also watch all the activity in the courtyard two floors down.

So we enter the suite into the living area.

There are two sofas and a desk for working if you choose.

All the floors throughout are hardwood.

The next room is for sleeping. The bed, on the “World’s Most Comfortable Top Ten” list, is king size. Merri and I have rented this suite for the last two years and made this so…pillowtop mattress…with 300 thread count Italian sheets we hand carried to Ecuador.

The four poster bed frame was given to us by friends who shipped it from the Seychelles (after their plantation there was burned down). The bed posts are made from a rare coconut called “Coco del Mar”. Once only Royalty in the Seychelles was allowed to have “Coco del Mar”…under penalty of death we were told. Whatever…be sure…this is not your normal, run-of-the-mill, hotel bed.

Neither by the way is the ceiling. We are told by the previous owners that the name Meson de as Flores (Meson is not a Spanish word). It came to be because the Ambassador to France used to almost live here. This was his “Maison of the Flowers” which became corrupted into translation. That Ambassador donated a special antique (this all happened a long time ago) pressed a tin ceiling…quite beautiful…and rare.

Finally we reach the third room..a more than king size bathroom and closet.

Merri and I designed it, because she loves baths. I’m a shower sort of guy…so…this is why we have great marriage and a Vichy Spa Shower.

The closets and cabinets, like the floors are all hardwood…

..the real stuff.no veneer or engineered flooring here.

Our normal Hometel program lets guests stay for 31 nights at a low rate of $32 a night. Merri and I have rented the suite for the last years so it was not available. Now that we have finished a loft studio nearby where we are moving we have added this suite of rooms to our hometel program and at only $19 a night more. You can read about our hometel program below and sign up for $999 for a month (31 nights). You can choose the suite instead at $1,588 for the month or $1,688 for a couple.

To reserve the suite, first check availability with Merri at merriscott@live.com

Hometels including the suite were fully booked through March 2009, so please contact us with your dates.

Once you have cleared availability, simply sign up for the hometel and put your choice of the suite in the comments section. We will charge the $1,588 instead of $999 (or couples price).

Meson de las Flores is offering a Hometel program in Cotacachi Ecuador where you can enjoy Ecuador at very low costs for a month (or longer) at a time

Here are some snapshots of the Meson de las Flores Inn. Our Land of the Sun Foundation took control March 1, 2006 and created the Hometel program so readers can stay here at a monthly rate of $999. (This low fee helps humanitarian and charitable causes).

The monthly price includes a wonderful served breakfast of just squeezed juice, bacon or ham and eggs, bread, ripe fruit and cereal. Lunch and dinner are extra at $5 for a two course meal if you choose to dine at the hotel.

We have free wireless broadband for your laptop or a computer you can use, plus a VOIP phone system so you can call the US, Canada or Europe at no charge.

We have also installed a far infrared sauna for your health and enjoyment.

The entrance of our home (and we hope yours) in Cotacachi is a bit more than 60 steps to a magnificent cathedral and park.

Here’s the park!

Cotacachi is quiet and peaceful and once inside Meson you feel the flavor of its colonial past. The foundations of this building were started here over 180 years.

The inner courtyard is open and this (plus an inside dining area) is where we serve meals. We have an excellent chef trained in Andean nutritional skills. Meals are delicious and those who stay rave about the food.

We have a full professional kitchen where we produce delicious, nutritious and energizing meals drawn from the Andes’ volcanic soil.

Everywhere you turn you see stunning views from the hotel. The hotel is nestled between three mountains. This is Mount Imbabura.

Five minutes away is La Mirage a Relais and Chateuax Spa.

20 minutes away is a national park and crater lake for picnics and in pure air and nature take you along nearby along Cuicocha Crater Lake. Cuicocha was formed by a massive volcanic explosion 3,000 years ago. You picnic on a carpet of grass by pure, azure, 600 foot deep waters amidst breathtaking scenery. There are numerous trails for hiking and horseback riding.

Here’s Merri, our hound dog Ma and me at the lake.

Less than an hour away is Chachimbiro Thermal Springs (picture below) you soak in the wilds of its mineral waters.

Locals knew of pools of healing waters since pre hispanic times, but the majority of these medicinal thermal waters began to flow after an earthquake in 1868. They come from a volcanic complex that has existed 10,000 years and flow at temperatures ranging from 92 F to 132 F.

The chemical composition makes them among the best healing waters in the Americas as they contain chlorides, sulfides of iron, copper, fluorine, bromine and iodine. They act as a digestive, purgative regulator, stimulant of the cardiovascular system, diuretic and a central nervous system stimulant.

This is one of the most famous craft areas in Ecuador and there are numerous markets all within a few minutes ride (taxis by the way are very inexpensive) from Meson. Shopping markets include: Otavalo, world-renowned for its large, varied indigenous market. Throughout the week, there is an abundance of traditional weavings and handicrafts to be found.

Cotacachi is famous as the leather village and specializes in all types of leather wear. The main street is lined with shops selling belts, jackets, bags, vests, suitcases, saddles and more. There is an abundance of products allowing you to find what you are looking for – all at amazingly cheap prices.

San Antonio de Ibarra, is famous for wood carvings and furniture. The tradition of craftsmanship developed by the population of San Antonio dates to the 16th century and includes sought after wooden religious art and altar pieces that are shipped worldwide.

One of the best weaving villages in Ecuador is Peguche. This village is far less known than Otavalo but the better tapestries are woven here. They have weaving demonstrations including how all natural dyes are made.

Traditional Masapan art made from hardened bread dough craft making is a cultural expression of the rural zone of Calderon, which has been passed down for generations. Now we have one of the descendants of this ancient craft who is offering it in a nearby village to us…just 7 miles away. The masapan crafts are original products, multicolored and perfect for decoration. All products are hand made with quality prime material that is non-toxic, to protect health and the environment.

We have a Spanish teacher who lives near the hotel and offers both group and individual Spanish lessons at very low prices.

You also enjoy very comfortable king size beds (with 380+ thread count sheets), balcony and daily maid service. Every room has a large balcony. Laundry is extremely inexpensive.

Medical services are excellent. Some residents more than pay for their stay just having dental work completed.

In addition the weather is wonderful! Ecuador is a land of intense sun, but the Andes climate varies according to altitude. Cotacachi sits at 7,800 feet, so the temperatures range between mid 40s (at night) and mid 70s during the day. Because there is no industry for many miles the air is clear and the stars at night spectacular!

This is a small community (10,000 people). The people are warm, sweet and friendly, no traffic jams, no pollution…to us an almost perfect place to live.

Finally your contribution by living here helps support the programs of the Land of the Sun Foundation (See www.landofthesun.org ). The hotel was purchased with charitable contributions and all proceeds from the hotel goes to charitable causes. To date we are offering free English lessons in the community, a soup kitchen for the homeless, a children’s lending library, medical missions, medical help, higher learning for the indigenous, and computer gifts. Being a part of these wonderful programs adds one more fulfilling dimension to living here with us at Meson de las Flores.

We love our home here and hope you will share Ecuador with us.

To make your reservation, simply choose the order form below.

Remember that time is money and in this case, timing your visit to Ecuador is money and convenience!

Here is an Ecuador air travel warning that really saddens me to write.

Let me explain why this is sad.

Blaine Watson just finished his Beyond Logic course on Vedic Astrology. We had a really great turn out… more than a full house here at the hotel.

Here is Blaine working with several delegates.

Blaine’s course had more delegates than our international investing course. This does not surprise me because so many of our delegates have an interest in looking beyond the traditional health and wealth data.

We work hard to give them great experiences… introducing them to new nutritional and health as well as wealth ideas.

We take delegates for hikes around Cuicocha Crater Lake.

Plus we take them to Chachimbiro Volcanic thermal pools are near by.

This is a wonderful natural place where we can celebrate and immerse ourselves in the pure water of Ecuador .

Here we are enjoying the purest of Ecuador water with one of our groups as we soak for health and longevity in the Chachimbiro thermal springs.

The Ecuador water comes hot out of the mountains and has one of the most healing blends of minerals in the Americas. The Ecuador water is super hot at the top, about 120 degrees.

Plus we send them to the wonderful Relais & Chateaux La Mirage Spa.

One benefit to our course is that we have a close proximity to the wonderful Cotacachi market (five minute walk). Here one can buy incredible vegetables. Those huge cabbages are between 50 cents and a dollar. You can buy more of those perfectly vine ripened tomatoes than you can eat for a greenback.

The fruit is outstanding as well. This is why Ecuador real estate for sale offers such great value.

We look at the wonderful herbs and spices there… star anise…

Cloves…

Sweet Pepper (black cardamom)

Cumin

Achiote

We provide them with recipes for purifying teas we learned from a Shaman who lived high in the Andes. Though the village where he lived had no running water, the locals always glowed and their skin looked fresh and clean. I questioned their secret and this is what they said. This cleansing is delightful and works inside and out!

Take six packets of chamomile tea, six long cinnamon sticks and a handful of black cardamom (the sweet pepper shown above). Boil them thoroughly in a couple quarts of water. Set aside a cup or two to drink. Dilute the balance in three to five gallons of water as hot as you can stand. Get in a bathtub or shower. Sit in a meditative pose, relax and slowly ladle cup after cup over your head and entire body. When through, do not rinse or towel dry. Let your hair and body dry naturally. You’ll feel clean with a warm glow, smell like apple pie and your skin and hair will shine!

Enjoy drinking the tea as much and often as you like. This is a sweet, gentle secret that you can enjoy anytime, anywhere.

We even show delegates how to gain health benefits with indigenous music. Here are a group of singers at the market.

In short we do a lot to fill our clients’ desires for better health…including serving up an good vegetarian menu for our vegetarian delegates.

So here is the Ecuador travel warning. American Airlines does not serve vegetarian meals from Quito.

Blaine Watson is a vegetarian and when we called American Airlines to book his vegetarian meals from Quito back… even though he had a first class ticket… the reply was … sorry. No meal choice from Quito. We even called the US offices of American Airlines… to no avail.

This is sad… even sadder is the fact that American business… once the leader of capitalism and caring… no longer cares enough… to serve its clients who cannot eat meat… even on first class flights. This is a long flight.

Next time you travel to Ecuador… if you desire a special meal… check in advance. American won’t help you… unless maybe people make a fuss.

I prefer LAN and Delta anyway… but I’ll check there as well to make sure that such bad service is not catching.

Ecuador health tips can help you in business and vice versa. I’ll explain how in a moment. Then we’ll look at new Ecuador real estate like this.

Merri and I are back in Cotacachi after one of those trips from you know where.

Here is something not to do. Do not have a non flyer check in bags for you! This is something we picked up listening as we stood round the conveyor belt waiting for our bags to arrive in Quito.

We flew down on the Delta Atlanta Quito flight. The crew was really switched on. The Captain was great… informative…came out and talked to us. We were ready to depart slightly ahead of time…except. A group of Medical missionaries were coming down on the same Delta flight. They realized that there was an embargo on all early January flights to Ecuador...limit two bags per person. They had some extra stuff to bring.

So they booked four extra people (who never intended to fly). Those people arrived with their two bags each…checked in…and left.

This was not a good idea.

We were ready to go ahead of time, when the system discovered those four were not on board. Their bags had to be removed. Of course these people had checked in early so…all the bags had to be removed from the plane to find the bags. I suspect that there was some extra security precautions taken as well…due to the unusual nature of this.

This cost another extra hour on the tarmac which put us into Quito much later than the norm…a time when the clouds come into Quito. We circled…and circled until finally we had to fly to Guayaquil for more fuel.

Then we flew back to Quito… more circling until our flight, scheduled to arrive at 9:30 pm, landed at 4:30 am the next morning. I heard the medical missionaries talking about what they had done as we waited for our bags.

Merri, Mahananda and I had been traveling 17 hours and had two more hours to go, so I was too tired to say anything. I believe it is a good thing that the other passengers did not hear this or those medical missionaries, who delayed the other hundred plus of us, may have needed medical treatment themselves.

Okay steam blown…I actually am getting to a point.

We arrived in Cotacachi at 6:30 am with little sleep and immediately went to work…and worked just fine all day, through till about 10 pm that night. Though I did send my Ecuador Living subscribers a message without a link in my altered state that I call sleep typing.

There is always so much to do when we first return. The staff are great but each person needs time with us.

Next morning we felt great and were out for our morning walk a little late..but still before most people were up.

All this took place on the same month that our first Social Security payments will arrive in our account…and we love each day of this.

In December we had a friend, an MD, do a complete set of tests. She was pleased at the good state of our health. Our only one problem was excessive cortisol levels in the morning…a sign of our workaholism….too much stress.

I did not really need the tests to know that I felt great and energetic…enthused and excited as each day begins.

Our doctor wanted to know what we do and there are a few things… that we have learned from healers around the world especially in Ecuador.

So I declare this Ecuador health tip week. Each day we’ll share one really important health tip that Ecuador shamans have shared with us.

Here is Ecuador health tip #1: Don’t straddle the fence.

This most important fact has been stressed to us so many times that to me this is the most important factor for good health. Be true to yourself! Don’t act nice when you don’t feel that way. Don’t eat alfalfa when you really want a Big Mac. Let me put it another way…don’t be a phony. Don’t live your life bound by phony rules.
Do what you love.

One Taita Yatchak explained this important tip in this way when he said. “In the past life was simple. Every place had a black and a white zone. If a person felt like being physical, they dressed in black and visited the black zones. If they felt like being spiritual, they dressed in white and visited the white zones. There was no concept that black or white were bad or good. Each was considered a valid manifestation of life. The key was to be what you were and to associate with others of the same ilk. Blacks did not visit with Whites and vice versa.”

Today most of us are pulled in so many directions by so many forces. Money worries struggle with other concerns. Patriotism conflicts with religion. We are often herded into jobs or businesses we really do not like, but we keep them and put on a brave face for the cash…medical insurance or mortgage…or kids tuition…or… I could go on and on.

These inner conflicts kill energy, stamina strength and eventually rob us of good health.

This is why we write so often…do what you love….then figure out how to make a living in the process. It is better to be a little poor and happy…then rich and sick. Of course the irony of life is that if you do what you love you probably won’t be poor!

Remembering this most import health tip is one reason we decided to get started for the new year with our new internet course. We made a special offer last week to provide you with our three courses on how to do business…at a $500 discount.

The two existing courses are:

International Business Made EZ which normally sells for $199.

Self Fulfilled – How to be a Self Publisher which sells at $249.

Tens of thousands have used these courses.

I am creating a new course entitled “Tangled Webs We Weave – How to Have Your Own Internet Business” that will be offered at $299 and offered the three courses…total value $748 for $247…a $500 savings…right now…today.

This special offer provides this brand new, as yet unwritten course, at $52 off the courses $299 price…plus…the two courses above.

At the top of the Ecuador health tips is do something you love every day! Nothing is as important to your health.

Tomorrow’s Ecuador health tip will deal with nutrition.

Until then, good health to you.

Gary

One thing Merri and I love to do every day is walk around Cotacachi. There is so much going on and up here…such a nice change from the draw back we see in the USA.

Our walks are useful as well as enjoyable. We spot the best properties the minute they go up for sale…and jump on them for our readers and real estate tours. For example this was a field where we used to take Ma for a walk. Something is going on and this urbanization is right next to the nice homes (shown at the top of this message) that are being built in this area.

We are checking this out now. This is one of the best areas for growth in the village right behind the main shopping street shown below.

Join us for our upcoming international investing and business course or our import export course. Here is what one of our previous delegates wrote:
Hello Gary.

It is with great warmth that I wish you and Merri a Happy New Year! It sounds as though your holidays were filled with family and fun. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

I want to take this opportunity to tell you how thankful I am to you and Merri for all that you do. The first course I took (import/export) was so exciting and ignited an excitement in me that I had not felt in ages. I have been back several times since last February and have been doing some shows and just selling things to friends and friends of friends. I am getting more serious in my business now and am planning to work on several specific home décor items in the next couple of months. Hopefully we will get the chance to visit at El Meson if you are there when I visit.

I went to Ecuador, originally, on a whim and have just fallen in love with the country and its beautiful people. I thank you and Merri for your charitable work and for the love, support, and encouragement that you show your subscribers and course attendees.

I will soon be planning another trip and would like to focus specifically on home décor, such as bowls, candlesticks, pillows, linens, etc.

Again, MANY THANKS for opening my eyes to so many new opportunities and ways to help others while benefitting through business ideas.

I wish you and Merri all the best in 2009.

Best Regards,

We invite you to join us in Cotacachi where the real estate and import export opportunities are great (but entirely different) as well.

Here is Cotacachi’s main shopping street.

Otavalo, the largest indigenous market in the Americas is just minutes away as well.

The course fee includes meeting at Quito airport (day before the
course)…transportation (by group bus) to Cotacachi and back to Quito.
Course fee does not include air are. accommodations, food or individual transportation.

Many investors worry about the current economic downturn…yet there is a destructive investment fundamental that is now so powerful it overwhelms all other factors that affect investing. It has such power it could destroy most investors in North America and make the current recession pale in comparison. The frightening part is it could unleash its destruction as soon as October 2011! I want to share what, when and when this disaster could happen.

Then I want to share how you can make a fortune from NOW THROUGH 2012 and during this crash.

Before I explain how you can reap profits never before imagined and sidestep the upcoming disaster that will wipe out so many investors…..we need to look at some facts.

These are facts, figures and statistics that will truly horrify anyone who even keeps a modest checkbook. The figures give rise to such great concern that we can see the horrible predicament into which we are being led.

Let me prepare you by assuring you that every economic crash is simply a shifting of fortunes. Just as the depression of the 1930s created many millionaires, so will this crash. Once you understand the problems, you can find easy ways to protect against them and become one of those who are enriched rather than ruined during the transition.

Part of this debacle will come because the US dollar is now near a major fall…in fact an unprecedented crash is a better term what will happen to the dollar. We now know, having seen the Dow fall 50% in a year, that US institutions are not invincible from unparalleled drops.

There may be ups for the US Dollar. For every period of a rising dollar, there will be longer periods when dollars fall. For every upward move, there will be an ever greater fall, Each rising will be weaker and shorter, each fall, longer and deeper.

In this knowledge lies a fortune! Here is why this fact is so sure.

In 1964, the year Lyndon Johnson became president, the total national debt was $316 billion. By the time, Ronald Reagan left office that debt had climbed to $2.6 trillion. The interest cost alone was $214 billion. By 1990 the debt had risen to $3.2 trillion and interest costs for just the one year were $242.9 billion. Interest was the largest single government cost after Social Security, even greater than defense spending. That was when the economic problem began as US debt moved towards a precipice where recovery becomes impossible.

Flash forward 18 years and read this excerpt from a December 2008 Washington Post article.

“President Bush has nearly doubled the national debt during his eight years in the White House. Mr. Bush is on track to add $5 trillion to the $5.73 trillion national debt he inherited when he took office. According to Treasury Department data, the number was $10.66 trillion at the end of November, and it has been rising at an astronomical rate.”

That’s bad enough…but the future gets worse as the article says that during fiscal 2008, which ended Sept. 30, 2008 the national debt increased by more than $1 trillion, breaking the previous fiscal year record of more than $600 billion.

The government’s debt situation is about to get worse as the Post outlines that
Federal debt should increase by $2 trillion in fiscal year 2009 alone!

Given an average interest rate of 4 percent, that $5 trillion of extra debt requires extra $200 billion per year from taxpayers in interest on that debt – in perpetuity.

The Post article points out, “During October, the first month of fiscal 2009, the national debt increased by a staggering $549 billion. That was approximately three-quarters of $1 billion every hour of every day, or more than $12 million per minute and more than $200,000 per second.”

This is a lot of debt even for America’s 14 trillion a year economy.

Then the news gets worse.

Excerpts from an August 2008 US News & World report says: “Welcome to America’s $2 Trillion Budget Deficit. Barack Obama has already said that America’s ‘investment deficit’ will take priority over its budget deficit.

A rough estimate of the cost of this New New Deal would be close to $500 billion a year, maybe $775 billion if Uncle Sam is to completely offset the drop in consumer spending predicted by Rosenberg. Now, as it is, the government is expected to run a $500 billion deficit next year. So the S&S plan would put that budget deficit at over $1 trillion. And if you tack on a potential $500 billion to $1 trillion bailout of the banking industry, that $1 trillion deficit could conceivably double to $2 trillion.

But a $2 trillion budget deficit would be, like, 15 percent of GDP. That would be the highest level since World War II and more than twice as high as the postwar peak of 6 percent in 1983.

How much worse could the situation get… a one year deficit that is 15% of Americas fourteen trillion dollar a year economy?

The answer is much worse…in fact five times worse… because…
all of these government estimates are skewed.

If US debt is now 10 trillion and Obama’s administration borrows 2 billion more in 2009, that makes the debt look like 12 trillion.

Yet according to excerpts a USA Today article, “Taxpayers on the hook for $59 trillion” by Dennis Cauchon. The federal government’s debt is five times worse if corporate-style accounting standards are used.

The article says: “Modern accounting requires that corporations, state governments and local governments count expenses immediately when a transaction occurs, even if the payment will be made later.

“The federal government does not follow the rule, so promises for Social Security and Medicare don’t show up when the government reports its financial condition.

“Bottom line: Taxpayers are now on the hook for a record $59.1 trillion in liabilities, a 2.3% increase from 2006. That amount is equal to $516,348 for every U.S. household.”

With such fundamentals, it is hard to be anything but pessimistic about the US dollar. This is why, with the information I am about to share, you can reap profits again and again.

Take for example the financial power that comes from understanding the value of the US dollar to the Japanese yen.

Despite the crash of 2008, long term investors in the US stock market have done well. January 1, 1982, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 896. January 1, 2009 it was 8,515. That is a rise of 9.5 times in 26 years or about 36% (9% compounded) return a year…even after the 2008 crash! $10,000 invested has grown to $95,000.

So, it seems.

Now, let’s look at the yen. During the first half of the 1980s, the yen failed to rise in value even though current account surpluses returned and grew quickly. From ¥221 in 1981, the average value of the yen actually dropped to ¥239 in 1985.

The excellent Dow profit looks downright lousy, an increase of only 3.7 times in 26 years. 61% percent of all the Dow profit in the last 26 years has been lost due to US dollar erosion. And the dollar’s fall will grow worse!

This is powerful profit knowledge…IF…you know what to.

US government debt has passed the short term point of no return. Three bold steps were needed two decades ago, a reduction of entitlement costs (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.), reduced defense spending and a reduction of the existing debt. The government moved in the opposite direction… in all three cases.

There are many ill omens as our new government still does not take this incredible problem seriously. The proposed new plans might cost trillions more. These are trillions that the US government does not have. Nor are we likely to see any increases in tax revenues during the current economic downturn.

America must borrow to spend and the deeper the US debt, the greater the dollar’s fall.

The government’s refusal to create a plan to balance the budget shows no solution is in sight. It is menacing to see how the government plans to spend more now.

The US Treasury only has 33 months left before a tsunami of expense rushes over the government. By the time (if ever) the government finally recognizes this problem, for most investors, it will be too late. If it takes a terrible crash of the US dollar to finally wake the government, it could wipe out millions of families’ saving, capital and spending power in the process.

All these facts are omens of ill winds ahead. There are already tens of millions of Americans who have been financially wiped out….but the worst has not even begun.

We will see hyper inflation, massive unemployment and a free fall of the greenback that will affect currencies and investing everywhere. This crash will make the current downturn…even the last great 1930s depression look like a Sunday picnic.

You do not have to be alarmed because the resolution which I am about to share is so simple, anyone can act and can prepare for this disaster without inconvenience or trouble.

You do not have to participate in the great fall of the US dollar. All you have to do is learn how to be a multi currency investor.

The time for international investing is right. Global diversification has already created fortunes for a few sophisticated investors because this obvious problem of the US government debt actually makes it easier to make money, if you know how to invest abroad.

Let me explain why big problems can mean big profits, then let me explain why no one has been around to tell you how to invest abroad but why there is not a solution that can make multi currency investing totally easy for you.

First, let’s look at the big problem. It’s a sad reality that US government debt has actually been ruining US investments for over 40 years. The big bankruptcy that’s coming is just the end. The bankruptcy really started in 1971 and has been building steadily since.

Until 1971 the US dollar was the kingpin currency for the world. Then it was “temporarily” suspended from the gold standard. This “temporary” move, like our debt today, was ignored by the government. Since that time (the dollar was never reinstated to the gold standard), the buck has fallen and fallen. Though you may have read about a strong dollar lately, the reality of the greenback’s slide continues.

Don’t get me wrong, the dollar has not dropped every day. It has enjoyed some short term rises over the past 37 years, but to see the real picture all you have to do is look at the dollar’s value in any major currency in 1971 and then look at its value today.

In 1972 for example the US $ was worth over 4.25 Swiss francs, 4.00 German marks and nearly 400 Japanese yen. Today, as you can see from the yahoo.the same dollar has dropped as low as 1 dollar per Swiss franc, .65 euro (related to the German mark) and only 90 yen. In other words, if you had $10,000 in 1971, it was worth about 4,000,000 yen. If you invested those dollars safely clear back in the 1970s and earned a 4% compound return, by 2008 those dollars were worth over $40,000. You might well feel the investment had gone well.

The sad truth is those $40,000 are now worth only 3,800,000 yen! All US dollar investments have lost over 4% compounded each and every year for the past 22 years. Your 4% return was a real loss by hard currency standards, but this loss has been hidden and the real facts about your wealth have been kept from you.

On the other hand, had you invested in Japan, Switzerland, Germany or most other major currencies, your investment would have tripled or quadrupled in dollar terms even before you started making profits!

There is another fact that is even more spectacular. Most stock and bond markets abroad (in addition to the currency gains) have been better than in the US.

For example had you invested in the Dow in 1978, the ow was standing at 865. Today, mid December 2008 is is 8,500. $10,000 invested in the Dow in 1978 would have grown to about $100,000…even after the global stock market crash.

Not bad?

If instead you had invested $10,000 in an investment as simple as the Templeton World Fund which started in 1978 and invests in stock markets al over the world, the $10,000…after the 2008 global crash…is still worth $352,080.

Look at the performance of bond markets as well.

Right now you receive 1.96% on the U.S. Treasury bonds that mature 2013.

Yet good quality Danish bonds of about the same term pay 4.53% in Danish kroner.

Plus all of the currencies above (though depressed lately) have appreciated as much as 50% versus the dollar in recent years.

These statistics show how US government debt has invisibly, but relentlessly, destroyed the value of our investments in North America. These statics come from my multi currency investment course, that can help you prosper even though the US dollar falls.

I’ll explain the course but first let me explain why, even though the US dollar has fallen so dramatically over the past 37 years, no one has been knocking on your door to tell you how to invest abroad.

It is the very weakness of the US dollar that has stopped North American banks, brokers and other financial institutions from telling you about the problem. These facts have been hidden from you because they have been afraid if US investors knew how bad the dollar has been that no one would deal with them. They have, short and simple, been afraid of losing business.

Now let me tell you about this simple easy-to-use investment course called Multi Currency Investing (MCI) and how you can have it on a no risk basis.

First, let me explain that the course is designed for anyone. It is even for those who have never invested abroad, even if they are small investors with only a few thousand or a small amount to invest monthly. MCI explains how investments can be made overseas for small amounts. It even explains how to invest out of the US dollar right her in the US and never leave your home of office.

However, MCI also gives sophisticated information that you might not know even if you have been investing all over the world. Some of my readers and course delegates are billionaires who own dozens of companies and invest all over the world!

Sleepy, Safe Portfolios Can Earn Over 100% Per Year

Multi currency investing does not require any fast trading techniques. Multi currency portfolios are normally slow and sleepy investments…not currency contracts or futures speculations. Most multi currency positions are aimed with a five year horizon…pretty sleepy compared to people who trade currencies (an entirely different and far riskier technique). For most of us, slow and sleepy mean SAFE!

Yet multi currency portfolios can be really profitable as well.

How sleepy and how safe?

Let’s look first at sleepy.

In 2006 we created an Asian multi currency portfolio consisting of just five award winning mutual funds.

We did not touch the entire portfolio for an entire year. Then after one year we made just five changes…dropping two mutual funds and adding three other mutual funds. Then we did not make another single change. That’s pretty sleepy, choosing a handful of mutual funds and making only five changes in two years.

Okay. Here is the big question. How profitable?

In the first year (2006) this portfolio rose 114.16%. Then we made the five changes mentioned (two funds dropped and three added). In 2007 this portfolio rose 122.62%. 2008 was a disaster year and the portfolio lost 79%. But when your portfolio is up over 236% in two years, it takes a lot of disaster to lose…so this portfolio is well ahead even after the great 2008 crash.

Year one up 114%
Year two up 122%
Year three down 79%

Total in three years…up 157% or an average of over 52% per annum for three years…even after the 2008 crash.

May I hasten to add that the portfolios published in the portfolio are not published recommendations. These are portfolios we study to learn why they rise or fall. More on this in a moment.

First let’s examine safety. How safe?

The portfolios were chosen with the help of one of the world’s safest banks and the mutual funds were all subsidiaries of that bank.

That safe bank is a Danish bank. That’s good because in recent years Denmark has been rated by Standard & Poor’s as one of the safest country in the world in which to bank.

The bank is Jyske Bank…well established with a history of over 100 years. Jyske is Denmark ’s second largest bank, with 450,000 clients in Denmark and over 30,000 abroad.

Jyske Bank has over 23 billion euros in assets and also happens to be one of the leading currency traders in the world. The Danes have always been big currency traders because as a small naval country surrounded by England, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Germany, Norway and other countries…they have always had to deal in many currencies.

This historically gained expertise means that unlike most banks (that trade only eight hours a day) Jyske maintains a 24 hour global currency and commodity dealer service. Many other large banks use Jyske to handle their off hour currency positions. This means that Jyske is huge when it comes to multi currency activity. In fact their turnover reaches $50 billion dollars a day.

Let’s address this issue of safety in more detail. Normally this is a pretty moot point. Right now everyone is concerned. Is a bank safe or not? I like Jyske from a bank safety point of view because there are three bank safety points, from the top down.

Bank Safety Point #1: A recent Yahoo Canada article shows a survey by the World Economic Forum listed five safest countries in which to bank.

Canada
Sweden
Luxembourg
Australia
Denmark

So Denmark is a safe place to bank. Now let’s look at Jyske Bank’s safety rating.

Bank Safety Point #2: Jyske Bank is Denmark’s second largest bank.
On October 10 2008, Moody’s affirmed Jyske Bank’s long-term Aa2 rating stable rating. This decision came despite the deteriorated economic prospects in Denmark, particularly in respect of the property market.

Bank Safety Point #3: Also on Friday 10 October 2008, the Danish Parliament passed a bill that secured all deposits and unsecured claims against losses in Danish financial institutions. The rating of the Kingdom of Denmark is Aaa/AAA with Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s respectively.

These are common sense bankers. They had minimal sub prime exposure when that scandal broke. Jyske had zero Madoff exposure.

That’s safe!

I happen to know Jyske Bank because I began using them (as my bank) over 20 years ago. They are one of the few banks that offers a special multi currency portfolio service for investors from almost anywhere in the world…including US investors through their Jyske Global Asset Management.

I was one of the first writers and publishers to begin writing about multi currency investing. Jyske bank was one of the first banks to offer a multi currency portfolio service…and they were my bank.

Not surprising we got together and have created a symbiotic relationship that can help you learn how to create multi currency portfolios that suit you. Jyske Bank assists by providing information that only a huge global bank trading 50 billion dollars of currencies and contracts a day (as Jyske does) can afford. My symbiotic relationship with Jyske allows me to combine my experience with this bank’s incredible knowledge, real time information capability and expertise so you learn in a most practical way from some of the greatest multi currency experts in the world.

Now let’s look at both the up and down side of these high performing portfolios and how they work?

The goal of MCI is not to recommend investments for you, but to help you learn how to be a multi currency investor so you are better at directing your broker, banker or investment advisor.

To accomplish this goal, the course provides three levels of education.

Part one of MCI is an extensive beginner’s guide to developing multi currency portfolios. This entire primer is sent to you when you begin the course. This portion of the course takes nothing for granted and walks you step by step through every part of international investing.

Take, one of the primer lessons as an example. It explains theory on some of the reasons why currencies move, but taking nothing for granted it also explains what the currencies of the world are and gives their history, so before you learn why the euro doubled versus the US dollar, you get to know these currencies and the their underlying fundamentals.

Another lesson in the primer gives case studies that are real examples of how the theory has been put to use in the past. This lesson covers theory on why currencies move and how to spot the hot currencies months ahead of time. Then it gets down to brass tacks and explains how to open bank accounts overseas to hold the hot currencies…or even how to invest abroad through US banks and brokers.

Everything about how to bank abroad and hold the currencies is covered. How to open accounts, how to send money abroad all the laws relating to overseas accounts, taxation, etc. plus the most important part, which is how to spend the money when you need it from overseas accounts.

Then the course gives a real, live case study that show how the theory works in reality. It tells about an investor who opened an account, got a checkbook and credit card and how he used them both and held several currencies for higher returns that he gained with US dollars.

Finally you also get valuable contacts in the course. These are vitally important. There are names and addresses of institutions and source of information you can use to turn your knowledge into action!

Here is the syllabus of the primer you will receive in MCI.

* Why Currencies Move.

* How to Bank Abroad.

* How to Buy Stocks and Bonds Overseas.

* How to Choose Currencies.

* Why Currencies Rise and Fall.

* How to Borrow Low and Deposit High.

* How to Buy Mutual Funds That Invest Abroad.

* ETFS. Why They are Often Better Than Managed Funds.

* How to Find Bonds that are Like and Often Better than Shares

* How and When to Capture Recoveries.

* Global Portfolio Diversification Theory.

* When Leveraged Low Risk Portfolios Are Safer and Perform Better Than High Risk Portfolios.

The primer deals with the past…but as we so vividly saw in 2008…markets are always in a state of change so…

Part two studies global markets in real time. Your MCI course comes in regular emailed lessons usually emailed every two or three days. Though at times you’ll get a lesson every day for many days in a row. Other times nothing will come for a week because these lessons are based on real time market activity. MCI studies currencies and global investment markets and reports to you on their value and why that value occurs.

This portion of the course studies the current performance of portfolios that Jyske bank creates…plus examines the portfolios of several globally diversified mutual funds….for both small and large investors. This portion of your course gives you an overall, up-to-date understanding of market and currency moves.

Part three of MCI shares my portfolio and where I invest. This is an unusual feature…so let me explain why MCI regularly reviews my personal investment portfolio and how this can be of value to your investing.

First this is honest.nd we have fund that for us…honesty pays.

As we recently learned from the Madoff scam…investors must always be on guard. This is our 41st year of educating about international investing. This is all we do and our great long term success has been based on placing our readers ahead of all other considerations. We do not sell investments. We do not give individual advice. We have no hidden agendas that could lead investments astray.

We want you to see and know what we are doing based on our own advice so you can trust the data we share. Otherwise the lessons do little good. You the reader are the only way we earn. We do not receive commissions…or any form of remuneration for selling shares or accounts etc. We hope to work with you for life…rather than make some type of quick killing by advising you to invest in something we d not really believe in.

We feel that by letting you know how we actually invest helps accomplish this long term bond.

This is vital because we often invest exactly the opposite of the market.

This is performance you will rarely see duplicated…anywhere…at any time.

Yet these were model portfolios…not meant to be yours….not meant to be mine. I do not invest in these portfolios because…they do not suit my lifestyle and my unique personal financial needs. One of the key lessons that MCI focuses on…again and again is “there is no perfect portfolio for you”… except one designed uniquely for you.

My portfolio is not perfect for you either…yet seeing “how” I adapt my portfolio to our virtual real time portfolio reviews can help you learn how to adapt your personal portfolio as well.

So even though our study portfolios were enjoying world class performance, exploding upwards like rockets, I was reducing leverage and getting out of markets. On August 17, 2007…well before the 2008 collapse began I posted the note in an MCI lesson on why I was getting out of leverage and equities.

“Such historical measures are so inexact that we cannot predict just from them what will happen in the short term. The numbers are close enough that we could be entering the fourth sub cycle down (similar to 1976 to 1978). If so expect a sustained drop in markets for two to three years.”

Even though the portfolios MCI studied continued to rise, I sent another danger lesson to the course on September 21, 2007. “Equity markets dropped again violently last month. Now these markets have recovered again. Yet this may be a last gasp party.”

I began increasingly concerned for myself and on October 14 sent this lesson “Periods of high performance are followed by times of low returns. We never know for sure when an upwards cycle will stall. Fundamentals look good for a bright 2008 in emerging and equity markets, but this can change quickly so to give our readers a better perspective, this year we are reducing leverage and adding a sixth portfolio with no leverage to study”.

The Oct. 15, 2007 lesson said: “Okay it’s time to turn the burner down and offered a “leverage dwindling” warning. On Oct. 26 I explained to readers that I had eliminated even my modest leverage and wrote: “There is a final reason I liquidated my leverage now…to lead by example. Too many readers are thinking that the dollar short or dollar neutral Portfolios are only up 38% or 48% for the year. When one thinks that way they could be headed for trouble, so I hope investors will follow my lead and take greater care with their leverage.”

I did not stop. The November 8, 2007 was a Black Friday interim message that warned again about all the points above and more.

This created one plain and simple fact. The 2008 stock market crash drop did not surprise those enrolled in MCI.

Right now at the end of 2008, I am adding leveraged bonds to my portfolio. Here is an excerpt from the December 28, 2008 MCI lesson:

There are many similarities between the US economy and the US government’s response to the downturn with Japan’s slowdown in the early 1990s and the Japanese government’s response then. Readers made fortunes borrowing yen as they may make fortunes borrowing dollars now.

Watch especially now for ways to borrow dollars at low rates for investing in high yield, short term dollar bonds like:

Currency Bond Yield

USD 9.125 19/05/2009 SOUTH AFRICA 6.04%

USD 10.25 17/06/2013 BRAZIL REP OF 6.24%

USD 8.25 31/03/2010 RUSSIA 5.93%

This type of bond has no currecny risk if leveraged in US dollars. Your only major risk is default.

Bonds denominated in euro are even more to my liking because they pay higher interest and have a potential forex gain if the dollar drops again verus the euro.

Yet our lessons are objective and provide warnings of risk as well. This type of leveraged investment also has a chance of loss if the dollar rises verus the euro. Do not borrow more than you can afford to lose!

There is even more yield potential in bonds denominated in euro.

EUR 5.75 02/07/2010 ROMANIA 10.81%

EUR 8.5 24/09/2012 BRAZIL REP OF 7.49%

EUR 5.25 16/05/2013 SOUTH AFRICA 8.61%

These three bonds yield an average 8.97%. They represent a diversification into Europe, Latin America and Africa. If you invest $100,000 and also invest another borrowed $100,000 at 4%, your total annual return is 13.94% before any forex gains or loss.

MCI provides you with bank contacts who lend in many currencies often at very low rates, to leverage investments.

Multi Currency Investing helps you enjoy the ultimate form of financial security.

From the very first lesson, you expand your knowledge about investing abroad. You gain contacts that can bring you solid profits and safety when most investors are being silently robbed blind by the steady deterioration of the US economy and the US dollar.

I want to give my readers an answer to relieve the anxiety they faced from this awesome dollar problem that I don’t think is going to get solved.

I originally started this course just for my readers. Tens of thousands enrolled and we have shared how to invest globally for deades.

Now due to the 2008 global economic crash, I am rewriting the entire course. This
crash has changed everything and I would like to share how to profit in 2009 with you.

Everyone needs to know how to have multi currency diversification. But in case this course does not help you, we provide a 30 day “completely satisfied or your money back” guarantee that we have offered our hundreds of thousands of readers for more than 20 years.

Our Multi Currency Educational Service is normally a mere $249 for a very long and educational year!

Won’t you share this exciting world of wealth accumulation with us and our readers around the world?

Subscribe here or see below how to join us in Ecuador or North Carolina and receive this course FREE.

Gary Scott

P.S. As previously mentioned, the portfolios we tracked in 2007 had the following results:

You can imagine performance like this attracted quite a bit of attention…and it did.

However these high returns were not the important benefit our readers gained.

MCI does not recommend nor manage portfolios. We did not suggest that readers invest in these portfolios. We created and tracked them because they were educational.

The courses is designed so you can work with your own investment manager to create your own multi currency portfolio that suits your own special, individual needs. The multi currency investment course is designed to help you learn how to manage your manager… nothing more. Yet this is a lot because Jyske Bank can provide a stable and safe institution for those who wish to employ a multi currency strategy.

The course will help you guide any investment adviser or investment manager who understands how to invest in more than one currency.

The course also helps you manage risk. The incredible portfolio performance above was achieved because the portfolios were leveraged using a tactic we call a multi currency sandwich. Investors borrow low and invest in yielding or growth portfolios. The portfolios used loans in Japanese yen and Swiss francs to magnify profits in good times.

Plus we learned how leverage pushes losses faster in bad times and that leverage can help recovery at the end of bad times as well.

Here is an interesting multi currency fact that provides us with a valuable investing idea. In 2009 we are tracking three Jyske portfolios.

Our studies to date have shown that the low risk portfolio, with some leverage, can be safer and perform better than a non leveraged high risk portfolio.

MCI continually reviews these portfolios so we can earn real time from their performance.

Subscribe here or see below how to join us in Ecuador or North Carolina and receive this course FREE.

Here is what a few others from around the world have said about our services and reports on international investing.

“ Gary , I am a long time subscriber in various media, and while cleaning out my files today I found some old ‘Gary A. Scotts World Reports’. In particular, the April 1988 issue provided the info that made me over a million dollars. Just wanted to say a belated ‘thank you’ and please continue the excellent work. Warm regards,”
From an Unknown Reader

“Dear Gary, I would like to give thanks to you for introducing me to Jyske Bank two years ago.

“I have been a long-time client of Merrill Lynch, but am in the process of re-evaluating my relationship with the largest brokerage company in the world. My problem is that when I compare Merrill to Jyske, Jyske outshines Merrill (or other major U.S. brokerage firms) in most categories as follows:

“1) Even though Jyske is much smaller, it has a much more global perspective which is critical in an evermore global investment environment.

“2) In order to maximize their own individual revenue, the brokers at Merrill prefer to outsource the day-to-day management of their accounts to various fund managers and hence, ‘manage the managers’. In contrast, I can call my Account Manager at Jyske and he can discuss every aspect of my account in detail with me.

“3) I attribute this difference in #2 to the fact that Jyske’s employees are not compensation driven, but instead are focused on satisfying their customers. That is why Jyske’s clients stay with the Bank on average for 12 years, which is phenomenal by Wall Street standards.

“4) Jyske’s security is far more stringent than that of Merrill’s. In addition to the standard account code and password, to pass through Jyske’s security one has to enter a Key Card number and also a randomly-generated 4-digit number from said Key Card.

“5) Having an account offshore allows me to sleep better given the anxious times we live in. Since I report the existence of the account and pay all taxes due, I am fully compliant with the law. However, such an account gives me and my family a ‘financial life boat’ should events in our own country ever get out of hand.

“As Dorothy Parker once said, ‘You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them THINK’. Jyske is a thinking person’s bank. My only complaint is the time zone difference since I live in California . However, since I am an early riser and my Account Manager is very responsive to my emails, this problem is very small relative to the HUGE benefits.

“Again, many thanks for introducing me to Jyske Bank. Given the ‘dumbing down’ that occurs in the popular media today, your ezine and its recommendations are ever more important. Please continue your good work to enlighten your readership. Warm regards,”
C.M. CALIFORNIA Businessman

“I was so overwhelmed with information I received I had to spend several days reading, sorting and filing it! I have decided to move my modest investment capital overseas.”
B.W. MONTREAL CANADA Professor

Quito shopping is excellent. In fact Quito is one of my favorite cities.

Few events excite me like watching the Quito dawn.

The city reveals herself in a purple haze…waking slowly…

but with great energy. Honored by the world as a Heritage City, Quito is ancient, rich…powerful city with every amenity.

Home to more than a million people, Quito has abounding wealth…and great shopping.

This makes our new column at this site and its author, Ray Manna, a special pleasure to introduce. Ray Manna writes in his column “Travels with Ray, Beyond Cotacachi” about Quito shopping and as you will see…much more.

Quito Shopping – Travels with Ray, Beyond Cotacachi

As lovely as our tranquil little mountain home in Cotacachi is, it helps to know that in an hour and a half one can find oneself in the midst of a metropolitan shopping experience that rivals some of the best. Today I arranged a shopping tour for friends and clients of our country inn, Meson de las Flores.

After a wonderful breakfast we piled into our van and headed off to Quito. We drove over the beautifully cobbled and landscaped roads leading out of the canton.

Our driver, Julio, was his usual gracious self as he politely described the wonders unfolding before us as we wound our way through the majesty of the Andes. The volcanoes and mountains and tended slopes are breathtaking. Lago del San Pablo and its village are remarkable in their beauty. The lake is huge and blue and surrounded with a perfect balance of agriculture and buildings. It evokes a
feeling for me of the Italian Alps. The lake backs onto a gentle which ten becomes
the steep volcanic slope of Mt. Imbabura.

After this comes the village of Tabacundo. This is the heart of Ecuador’s industry in the cultivation and shipping of Roses worldwide. Ecuador is a country of many contrasts, and this is but one of the many happy surprises that await in our region of Cotacachi.

After Tabacundo, we traverse an interesting and beautiful treed area, Guayallabamba. This area is filled with Caccia trees. It is very similar to Kenya in its feel…a bit dryer and with a more rugged feeling. They grow Cherimoya
here, and you can buy a basketful for five bucks. If you have not had
Cherimoya, let me tell you simply, that I consider it to be one of the
premium fruits on this planet!

Winding our way through the villages and eucalyptus groves that line the highway we found ourselves traversing the outermost suburbs of Quito in an area called Carapungo. Before us lay a beautiful community gracing the slopes that lead finally into Quito. This area is newer and is quite breathtaking to see.

Just a bit after this we arrived at our first destination, El Condado.

This is Quito’s newest shopping mall, and it’s truly a wonder to behold. The food courts alone will blow you away. I’ve never seen such a variety of food offerings in my life. The mall has an entire wall of glass on the fourth floor providing a full sweeping view of the stunning Pichincha beyond. The architecture is tiled and beautiful and everywhere you look it has the feel of a state of the art endeavor with art and lighting and video screens with imagery. Quito is as serious about expressing themselves in this modern format as well as they are through their traditions.

Well, what can I say? The girls couldn’t pass without stopping at the many shoe stores. My opinion was relied upon heavily and I’m pretty sure those boots and flats are going to turn some heads. Jo, a recent transplant from Dallas scored the foxiest half boots that are elegant but not over done. The leather is butter soft, with a jaunty strap around the ankle and shaft that is relaxed and feminine. Barbara, a
recent transplant from Miami, found a pair of flats in a subtle metallic and print that had a Chanel feel to them.

Next came the fabric store. Oh my god!! Talk about a collective freak out. I found a white sheer tone on tone fabric with a combination of bold shimmering bands and subtle accent banding that would look great with the gentle Andean breezes wafting through open windows on one of our typical Spring-like days. The velvets and jacquards were amazing and many for only $13 a yard. Finally, we found
an incredible midnight blue crepe with a gold metallic motif of Moorish design. We all just stood there, jaws practically open in amazement. These mountains, this weather, this beautiful architecture, and window treatments!! Get my drift?? I can’t wait!!

We continued on, Julio and I dutifully toting the growing number of prized purchases. We hit the Todo Hogar (Everything for the Home) store, a place where you can totally outfit your apartment or home. Barbara is going to be hosting the holiday for a bunch of us in her new Diana Carrasco designed home that she has rented for $600 a month. This is going to be one fun adventure. Barbara is a great cook, and I am looking forward to sampling her special version of holiday turkey.

Oh, the turkey will be fresh of course. And locally grown. That’s the way things work here.

There is so much more things I can tell you about the day, but these are some of the highlights. We finished up the day a bit tired, but with a van full of kitchen furnishings, new shoes, art supplies, fine French cosmetics, books, and a couple of cases of red and white wine from Super Maxi. Barbara opened up a couple of bottles of wine and we all had wine and cheese and crackers together in the courtyard at Meson after our long “hard” day. We found ourselves gathering in friendship and laughter here in our special home in Cotacatchi.

Come down and see what it’s about.

We’d like to share it with you!

Till next time, Ray Manna, Meson de las Flores, Land of the Sun Foundation, over and out.

Thanks Ray.

Gary

We invite you to join us in Cotacachi where the shopping is great (but entirely different) as well. Come a day early or stay a day late and do some Quito shopping!

Here is Cotacachi’s main shopping street.

Otavalo, the largest indigenous market in the Americas is just minutes away as well.

The course fee includes meeting at Quito airport (day before the
course)…transportation (by group bus) to Cotacachi and back to Quito.
Course fee does not include air are. accommodations, food or individual transportation.